Hinged support



F. N. SERTO 7 2,835,522 HINGED SUPPORT May 20, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet lFiled July 28, 1955 y 1958 F. N. SERTO' 2,835522 HINGED SUPPORT FiledJuly 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent HINGED SUPPORTFerdinand N. Serto, Kenosha, Wis., assignor to Marshall, Serto &Company, a partnership Application July 28, 1955, Serial No. 524,851

2 Claims. (Cl. 287-99) This invention relates to a hinged support, andmore particularly to a protective finger grip positioned on such asupport to shield a persons fingers from accidental injury when thepivoted hinge sections of the support snap into end to end relation.

The present application is a continuation in part of my co-pendingapplication Serial No. 411,393, filed February 19, 1954, now abandoned.

Hinged supports of the general type shown are constructed of a pair ofhinge sections which are pulled into abutting end to end relation by atension spring. Opposite ends of a hinged support are generally fastenedto the frame and to the drop-leaf of a table. When the drop-leaf israised, the hinge sections automatically snap into alignment insupporting position. Oftentimes the hinge sections are not pulledcompletely into supporting position by the tension spring, leaving adangerous open joint between the hinge sections. Slight finger pressureapplied by a person on either hinge section of the support will causethe tension spring to snap the hinge sections into end to end supportingposition. Frequently fingers are badly pinched in the hinge jointbetween the hinge sections during the movement.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved hinged support fora drop-leaf table or the like. I

Another object is to provide a hinged support having a protective fingergrip which has a portion positioned to shield the hinge joint betweenthe hinge sections so that the fingers of a person will not be pinchedin the hinge joint during movement to supporting or extended position.

A further object is to provide a finger engaging portion secured to thehinged support to facilitate breaking the hinge sections from their endto end supporting position.

The invention is illustrated in the preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section,showing the hinged support in supporting position upon a drop-leaftable;

Fig. 2, a bottom plan-view of the hinged support;

Fig. 3, a top plan view of the hinged support;

Fig. 4, a side elevational view of a modified form of the hingedsupport;

Fig. 5, a bottom plan view of the modification shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6, a top plan view of the modification shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7, a sectional view of the modification shown in Fig. 4 and takenas indicated on line 7--7 of Fig. 6.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 through 3, a pair of elongatedhinge sections or braces 10 and 11, each preferably having a pair ofupstanding ears, 31 and 32, are 'pivotally joined by a pair of rivets 12and 13 passing through the respective ears to form a hinge joint,generally designated 34. The hinge sections may be channel shaped,section 10 having a web 14 and a pair of legs or flanges 16 and section11 having a web and a pair of legs or flanges 17. Opposed faces of theadjacent ends of sections may be in abutting relation when the sectionsare turned into aligned end to end supporting or extended position, asseen at 33.

Brackets 18 and 19 are pivoted on the free ends of the hinged support bya pair of rivets 22 and 23. Bracket 19 secures an end of the hingedsupport to a frame 20 of a table, and bracket 18 secures the oppositeend of the hinged support to a drop-leaf 21 of the table. The hingedsupport is conveniently pivoted out of the way, as seen in dottedoutline in Fig. 1, when the drop-leaf is lowered to its suspendedposition.

A pair of hook-members 2d and 2-5 may be punched inwardly of thesupport, one in each hinge section, so that their open ends faceoutwardly of the pivoted ears 3]. and 32. A tension spring 26 isattached at its opposite ends to the hook-members 24- and 25. When thehinged support is broken from its supporting position to collapsedposition, as seen in dotted outline in Fig. 1, the spring 26 is almostunder no'tension. As the hinge sections 119 and 11 are swung towardalignment in abutting end to end position, the spring 26 is stretched,and increasing tension is gradually built up in the spring. Maximumtension is reached when the spring lies along the line defined by thehook-members 24- and 25 and the hinge joint at the rivets 12 and 13.Further movement of thehinge sections toward supporting end to endposition causes the spring to pass over center, that is, across the linedefined above, and the spring tension snaps the opposing faces of thehinge section into abutment with each other, as at 33. It is during thisfinal rapid movement to extended position that the opening portion 27extending over and positioned against the outer side of the hingesection 10. The base portion 27 has a pair of integral flange portions28 extending generally normal to the base portion 27 and bentintogripping engagement with the legs of the channel-shaped hingesection 14 to maintain the base portion 27 in fixed position on thehinge section 10. A fiat arm portion 29 is fixed to the base portion 27and extends along the outer side of the hinge section it approximatelyto its pivoted end.

An arcuate finger-gripping portion 30, preferably integral with the arm2Q, extends outwardly of the hinge section 10 and over the opposedabutting ends of the hinge sections to provide a means for grasping andbreaking the hinge sections from their end to end supporting positionagainst the'tension of the spring 26. As can be seen in Fig. 1, thefinger-gripping portion 39 and the arm portion 25 cooperate to shield apersons fingers from the hinge joint 34 as the hinge sections snap intoabutting relationship.

It is understood that the protetcive finger unit may be secured to oneof the hinge sections by a rivet, weld, machine screw or other means,and that the finger-gripping portion 30 may take some other shape thanthe arcuate finger grip shown.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figs. 4 through 7, and inthis modification, the hinged support is formed from a pair ofpreferably channel-shaped hinge sections, generally designated 46 and41, which are joined by a pair of rivets, 42 and 43, to form a hingejoint 44. In order to facilitate the assembly of the hinge sections ofthe hinged support, an end portion 45 of the outer hinge section 40 maybe made slightly larger than an a is) adjacent end portion 46 of hingesection 41 so that the end portion 46 may be nestingly received withinthe end portion 45. Thus the adjacent faces of the webs of therespective end portions 45' and 46 of each of the channelshaped hingesections 40 and 41 will rest in abutting relation with each other whenthe hinged support is in extended position.

As in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a pair ofhook-members or detents, 4'7 and 48, may be punched inwardly of thehinged support, one in each hinge section in such a manner as to form aconvenient mode of attachment for opposite ends of a tension spring 49.As shown in Fig. 7, it is apparent from the position of the spring 49and rivets 42 and 43, that the spring 49 pulls the hinge sections, 40and 41, into abutting relation in extended or supporting position afterpassing over center in much the same manner as previously described inconnection with the first embodiment of the hinged support.

As is shown in Fig. 7, the end portion 46 of the hinge section 41preferably has a cut-away portion at 50 to enable the two hinge sectionsto be swung into alignment in supporting position so that a close fit ismade between adjacent portions of the web of each of the hinge sections40 and 41.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 through 7, rovision is also madefor shielding the hinge joint 44 and for facilitating the breaking ofthe hinged support from extended or supporting position. As hereinshown, a protective finger grip 51 is provided and is preferably formedintegrally with the end portion 45 of the outer hinge section 40. Astrengthening rib 52 may be impressed into the central portion of thefinger grip 51 to add rigidity to the structure. When the hinged supportis moved toward extended position, the finger grip 51 extends into aposition of overlapping relation with the hinge section 41 to form aprotective shield for the hinge joint as it snaps closed. It is equallyclear that a similar finger grip could be offset downwardly from thehinge section 41 to perform a similar function Without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the present invention.

As in the first embodiment, the free ends of the hinged support are eachprovided with a bracket, 53 and 54, which are pivotally secured to theirrespective hinge sections in a well-known manner to adapt the hingedsupport for attachment to a drop-leaf table.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled inthe art.

I claim:

1. A hinged support, comprising: a pair of channelshaped hinge sectionseach having a central web and a pair of upstanding flanges.corresponding adjacent flanges at the adjacent ends of the hingesections being swingably connected above the central webs to form ahinge joint, said hinge joint permitting swinging movement of the hingesections between collapsed position and extended position in which thehinge sections form a continuous channel across the hinge joint and liein substantially a straight line; a tension spring positioned betweenthe flanges and adjacent the central webs of the pair of hinge sectionsin extended position, said spring having an end secured to each of thehinge sections so that movement of said hinge sections toward extendedposition will cause the tension spring to pass over center with respectto the hinge joint and will snap said hinge sections into said extendedposition; and a finger grip fixedly secured to the hinged end of one ofthe sections adjacent the central web thereof and extending into aposition of overlapping relation with the central web of the other hingesection when the hinged support is in extended position so as to form aprotective shield for the hinge joint during movement to extendedposition.

2. A hinged support, comprising: a pair of channelshaped hinge sectionseach having a central web and a pair of upstanding flanges,corresponding adjacent flanges at the adjacent ends of the hingesections being swingably connected above the central webs to form ahinge joint, said hinge joint permitting swinging movement of the hingesections between collapsed position and extended position, one of saidhinge sections being of a size to nestingly receive the hinged end ofthe other hinge section in extended position to form a continuous,straight line channel across the hinge joint, the central web at theadjacent end of said one hinge section having an integral terminalportion extending into overlapping relation with the central web of saidother hinge section in extended position, said terminal portion beingturned downwardly to form a protective finger grip for the hinge joint;and a tension spring positioned between the flanges and adjacent thecentral webs of the pair of hinge sections in extended position, saidspring having an end secured to each of the hinge sections so thatmovement of said hinge sections toward extended position will cause thetension spring to pass over center with respect to the hinge joint andwill snap said hinge sections into said extended position, saidprotective finger grip afiording a protective shield for the hinge jointduring movement toward extended position and facilitating breakage ofthe hinge joint for movement to collapsed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS195,325 Bailey Sept. 18, 1887 1,552,988 Hoberg et al. Sept. 8, 19251,713,116 Curtis May 14, 1929 1,788,102 Gilbert Ian. 6, 1931 1,840,492Duggan Jan. 12, 1932 1,874,424 Benson Aug. 30, 1932 1,918,040 KassickJuly 11, 1933 2,278,810 Virtue et a1. Apr. 7, 1942 2,284,003 Luppert May16, 1942 2,456,037 Woods Dec. 14, 1948 2,577,399 Bell Dec. 4, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS 616,801 Great Britain Jan. 27, 1949

